Eating (raw) garlic twice a week may reduce lung cancer risk, study says

Aya Tsintziras life.nationalpost.com Eating garlic may not give off the most fragrant of odors, but consuming raw garlic twice a week can cut the chances of lung cancer almost in half, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph. The study, published online in Cancer Prevention Research, links the consumption of raw garlic to a lowered risk of lung cancer — even for smokers. Whether cooked garlic has the same benefits has not been investigated yet. “Garlic may potentially serve as a preventive agent for lung cancer,” the scientists said in an interview. When scientists at the Jiangsu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in China looked at at 4,500 adults in perfect health and 1,424 adults with lung cancer, they discovered that those who ate raw garlic at least twice weekly had a significantly lower chance of contracting lung cancer. Scientists worked it out to be a 44% less likely chance. Findings were similar even if the adults smoked or were near cooking fumes, with a 30% less likely chance. Garlic has been thought of as a wonder herb, said to help with stomach troubles and even has a positive affect on stomach and colon cancers. This is because of a chemical called allicin. This research, especially the fact that raw garlic can stave off lung cancer even for smokers, is important because lung cancer remains the most contracted form of cancer in Canada, according to Lung Cancer Canada. In 2013, 25,500 Canadians will be diagnosed. One in 12 Canadians will be diagnosed every year. Smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society considers smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke triggers for lung cancer, and cooking food at a high temperature to be a possible trigger. They also recommend a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly broccoli, cabbage and the like, which are thought to help prevent cancer. But don’t go crazy with the raw garlic — according to a 2007 CBC report, the safe amount of raw garlic is one to two cloves a day.